Every episode of Kitchen Nightmares is the same. There's a failing restaurant, and we get an overview of the restaurant and why it's failing. The problems vary from a stubborn chef, a spineless owner, a clueless staff, or some mix of the above, but one thing is common: the food is terrible, but the owners don't seem to believe that. Gordon comes in, sees the restaurant, tries the food (big shock, he doesn't like the food) and he tells the owners that the food is not good, and the owners disagree and insist that their food is good, which leaves Chef Ramsay speechless. Later that night, he observes a terrible dinner service and then later inspects a more than filthy kitchen and Ramsay is furious. After getting the owners on board with change (which takes some time), they relaunch the menu (and most of the time, the decor), and the relaunch is a success, with the exception of a minor hiccup. That is your average Kitchen Nightmares episode........and I love it! There's something hypnotic about watching stubborn people so deep in denial getting yelled at by a decorated chef over how terrible their service and food are. My only concern with this show is how dramatized it is. They seem to focus more on drama between family and coworkers than they do on how a restaurant operates. In addition, some of the exercises Gordon Ramsay does with the owners seemed pointless. There was one episode that took place in a courtroom halfway through and two episodes had the owners boxing their feelings out. Those felt bizarre, like it was purely for theatrics. Other than that, I enjoyed this show. It had a capable formula and even featured some colorful personalities, and it actually made me want start cooking more.
Review of Kitchen Nightmares
